One Month
by J.D. Cunegan
Summary: <html><head></head>Richard Castle has been missing for a little more than a month, and despite her best efforts, Detective Beckett has made little headway in his case. But some help is potentially on the way, from an unexpected source... (This was originally a one-off, but demand has led me to reconsider writing installments; thanks for the support!)</html>


**One Month**

_**Note:** Takes place during the season 7 opener, "Driven."_

* * *

><p>It had been a month.<p>

31 days and nights. The wedding dress still had mud stains. Kate Beckett had tucked it away in the back of her closet, though why, she couldn't say. Misplaced hope? This naive thought that her fiance was just going to stroll through that door, self-satisfied grin plastered on his face, and everything would be alright?

Kate knew better. She knew she should be home, with her family. Yet here she was, in her old stomping grounds, closing the door to her closet before crossing into the living room and opening a relic she once thought gone.

Her murder board. It hadn't been used since the mystery of Johanna Beckett's murder had been resolved. Once she led Senator Bracken away in cuffs, Kate had no reason to keep all of that…_stuff_. All those pictures, files, seemingly random intel… against all odds, it actually _led somewhere_.

Could lightning strike twice? Her eyes settled on Richard Castle's head shot for probably the 6,000th time since the day they were to be married, and it still sent a chill down her spine. She grabbed the ring hanging from a chain around her neck, closed her eyes.

"Rick…where are you?"

A knock at the door startled Kate. Her heart skipped a beat, and her feet felt like lead. It felt like minutes passed before the knocked returned. Furrowing her brow, Kate grabbed the gun on the nightstand. Creeping toward the door, she paused — taking a deep breath — before turning the handle and swinging open the door.

"Alexis?"

"Hi," the redhead whispered, a combination of fear and confusion in her eyes. She tried to smile, but it died the second she saw Kate's hand on the gun. "Uh…bad time?"

Realizing she was still holding the gun, Kate sighed and placed it on a nearby table. She tried to meet Alexis' gaze, but couldn't. She felt guilty; Alexis wanted answers just as much as anyone else, and yet, Kate had none.

"No, I, uh…" Kate swallowed, steeling herself. "I just—"

"You hoped I was dad."

Kate stood in silence as Alexis walked inside. "Yeah," she admitted. "Sorry."

As Kate turned on the balls of her feet, Alexis lunged herself at her, wrapping her arms around the cop's shoulders. Kate, stunned at first, relented and returned the hug.

"Come home, Kate," Alexis whispered.

"I can't," Kate shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know you and Martha are hurting right now, but I—"

"You have to piece everything together. I know." Alexis released her grip, giving Kate a sad smile before approaching the couch. "I figured you'd be at the precinct, so I went there first, but…one look at Esposito's face told me I needed to go somewhere else."

"Yeah," Kate sighed, running a shaky hand through her hair. "Javy's being…an ass, I guess is the best way I can put it."

"Grams didn't want me to come," Alexis admitted. "Said we should let you and the guys do what you do, and that you'd find dad, but…"

Kate stared at Alexis, marveling at how resolute she was, despite her youth, despite the enormity of everything that was happening. Alexis always had been the most mature of the Castle gang, and if Kate had to guess, she figured Alexis was the emotional rock back in that loft.

No telling what Martha was feeling. Kate wanted to know, but then again, she didn't. All she really wanted was to find her fiance, bring him home, and give everyone back their lives.

"You can't sit back and wait," Kate finished. "I get it." She glanced over her shoulder before standing. "Come here. I wanna show you something."

Alexis rose, and Kate led her to the murder board. It was already open, Richard Castle's face front and center, flanked by several newspaper articles, handwritten notes, names underlines with question marks…anything Kate thought might point her in the right direction was on this board.

"Wow," Alexis shook her head. "Do the others have all this?"

"No," Kate brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "This is…this is mine. Time was…my mother was all over this board. It was her picture up there. Everything related to her death, whether it made sense or not, I put it up here."

Alexis' eyes danced between the board and Kate. She saw the detective fidgeting and playing with the ring around her neck. She could see Kate shaking. When was the last time she'd slept?

If she was anything like Alexis, it had probably been a few days.

"But…you solved it," Alexis said. "You got the guy."

"Because of your father," Kate corrected her. "And now…this board is his."

The pair stared at the board in silence. Alexis scanned over everything she could. The newspaper headlines were familiar. She never could bring herself to read the actual articles. Martha kept them all; why, no one knew.

Alexis approached the board, squinting at another shot of Castle, on the street, talking on his phone and holding a cup of coffee.

"Any leads?"

Again, Kate sighed. "No," she admitted. "I'm at a dead end. I can't find anything to explain why he would drop that money in the dumpster right after his abduction."

"Hm."

"What?"

"I could be…way out of line here, and tell me if I am…"

"No, Alexis, go on," Kate grabbed Alexis' hand, squeezing it. "I'll listen to anything at this point. Frankly, I could use one of your father's wild, out-there theories right now."

"Bracken."

Kate frowned, letting go of Alexis' hand. "What?"

"Like, maybe not Bracken himself, cause I saw him being led away in cuffs, but…" Alexis paused to gather herself, pacing back and forth in front of the board, "…guy like him was a big-time senator, he was gonna run for president. Guy like him's got connections, right?"

Dread washed over Kate. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. She thought this was over when she put away Bracken, but maybe she'd been naive.

"I mean…dad never told me much about your mom's case, but it always seemed like, the closer you got to the truth, the deeper it went," Alexis grabbed a marker and wrote "BRACKEN" on the board before underlining it.

"What if it goes even deeper than just William Bracken?"

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but words didn't immediately come. She swallowed, shaking her head. "You think whatever happened to Castle is a result of me arresting Senator Bracken."

Alexis shrugged. "Makes as much sense as anything else."

Kate was shaking again. First, this man took away her mother and threatened to completely tear apart her family. What if he was now orchestrating another dismantling of her life? First Johanna, now Richard.

Was this retribution for bringing Bracken to justice? If it was, how could Kate have been so naive to think that arresting a high-profile Senator wouldn't have repercussions?

"Did you keep all the files about your mother?"

Kate blinked. "What?"

"I wanna help," Alexis said. "I can't just…sit at home and watch Grandma open another bottle of wine. I have to…I have to _do something_, Kate! I want my dad back…"

Kate frowned. "But my mother's files—"

"I'm not gonna ask you to stop looking for my dad," Alexis explained. "But what if…what if while you're looking for dad, I'm looking into Bracken?" Kate opened her mouth to object, but Alexis pressed on. "I know I'm not official anything, and I know the files are sensitive, but…you can trust me to keep everything quiet. I won't share the files with anyone, I won't even take them out of this apartment. Anything I find, I'll find with you here."

Alexis' eyes burned with tears. "Please…please, Detective Beckett, just…let me help."

Kate inhaled deeply, wiping away a couple tears of her own. "Anyone ever tell you you're as stubborn as he is?"

Alexis offered a sad smile. "It's one of the few traits we share."


End file.
